Lithuania supports new EU sanctions on Minsk, calls for liberal regime for average citizens

It is not easy to approve restrictive measures, which may have a certain effect on EU member states

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VILNIUS, March 23 (Itar-Tass) —— Lithuania grants unconditional support to the new European Union sanctions against Minsk and calls for liberalization and broader humanitarian contacts with Belarusian citizens, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said on Friday.

It is not easy to approve restrictive measures, which may have a certain effect on EU member states. However, the EU is consistent in its steps. It has once again displayed responsibility and solidarity in the protection of its values, the minister said.

At the same time, he urged the European Union to be more open to average citizens of Belarus and to facilitate visa formalities unilaterally. There is a common opinion of sanctions applied to the Belarusian regime, but there is no unity about the civil society, especially, the issue of visas, he said.

The foreign minister also called for a common position in the return of European Union ambassadors to Minsk.

The EU foreign ministers coordinated additional sanctions on Belarus on Friday. They added twelve individuals and 29 organizations of Belarus to the European blacklist.